Over the course of her thirty-year career, Gwen Harwood established herself as an inventive and subversive writer. Starting with her debut collection, Poems in 1963, Harwood combined pastoral images with a postmodern approach, portraying religion and philosophy in new and inventive ways. Harwood published four more books before her death in 1996, concluding with The Present Tense in 1995.
Key Aspects of Gwen Harwood: Poems
Tone
Harwood’s poems range in tone from angry and dour to playful and energetic. Harwood often takes a subversive approach, especially when dealing with Christianity or patriarchy.
Setting
Most of Harwood’s poems take place in rural Australia.
Point of view
Although...
